A member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee delegation that visited Nigeria last week on a fact-finding mission, Riley M. Moore on Thursday said they “heard heartbreaking stories from survivors of this horrific genocidal campaign committed by the Fulani” in the Middle Belt region of the the country.
But Congressman Moore said that as part of measures to “end the slaughter of innocent Christians in the Middle Belt and stop the ongoing terrorist threat in the Northeast,” he is working on a report that will be submitted to President Donald Trump outlining “a path forward to work with the Nigerian government in a coordinated and cooperative manner.”
The high-level U.S. Congressional delegation include Congressmen and women Moore, Mario Díaz-Balart, Norma Torres, Scott Franklin and Juan Ciscomani, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, and U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills.
They held consultations with top officials of the federal and State government including National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State. The delegation also met with some of those who have supported allegations of genocide – Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, Bishop Isaac Dugu of Katsina-ala Diocese and the Tor Tiv, HRM James Iorzua Ayatse. They also visited victims displaced by violence in a Benue State Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp.
In a post on his verified handle, X, Congressman Moore said: “”I just returned from a Congressional delegation to Nigeria with @HouseAppropsGOP. While there, we visited Benue State.
“We met with Bishops Anagbe and Dugu and Tor Tiv. We met with suffering IDPs who are all Christians. They are forced to live in camps that are regularly attacked by Fulani Islamic radicals.
“We heard heartbreaking stories from survivors of this horrific genocidal campaign committed by the Fulani, including a woman who was forced to watch as five of her children were killed.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It will stay with me the rest of my life.
“I am working on a report to @POTUS that will outline a path forward to work with the Nigerian government in a coordinated and cooperative manner to end the slaughter of innocent Christians in the Middle Belt and stop the ongoing terrorist threat in the Northeast.
“We will brief the President soon. More to come.”
